Are you scrambling for a secondary-school place for your child? – The Irish Times

Nearly three out of four parents are unable to secure places for their children at Ireland’s most oversubscribed second-level schools, according to data released last week.

We’d like to hear what you think. Are you scrambling to find second-level place for your child? Are schools in your area oversubscribed? Are you worried?

As Carl O’Brien writes in his oped this weekend. There are dozens of areas in Dublin, Cork, Galway as well as large towns and commuter belt areas where all post-primary schools are oversubscribed.

In these areas there can be months of anguish, stress and sleepless nights as families struggle to find places for September. They wait in trepidation for a phone call or letter with news of their application. Waiting lists for many schools run into the hundreds. The proportion of successful applicants in some of the most oversubscribed schools is as low as one in five.

Have you had to apply to many schools? Have you had to change to a feeder primary school to try and give your child a better chance of entry? Why do you think there are such problems and what would you like to see done? Have you been through this in the past? How did it turn out.

You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential but for verification purposes.

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